Paper is widely used to display and record information. Printed information is easier to read than information displayed on a computer screen. Hand-drawing and handwriting afford greater richness of expression than input via a computer keyboard and mouse. Moreover, paper doesn't run on batteries, can be read in bright light, more robustly accepts coffee spills, and is portable and disposable.
Online publication has many advantages over traditional paper-based publication. From a consumer's point of view, information is available on demand, information can be navigated via hypertext links, searched and automatically personalized.
From the publisher's point of view, the costs of printing and physical distribution are eliminated, and the publication becomes more attractive to the advertisers who pay for it because it can be targeted to specific demographics and linked to product sites.
Online publication also has disadvantages. Computer screens are inferior to paper. At the same quality as a magazine page, an SVGA computer screen displays only about a fifth as much information. Both CRTs and LCDs have brightness and contrast problems, particularly when ambient light is strong, while ink on paper, being reflective rather than emissive, is both bright and sharp in ambient light.
People obtain news from a variety of sources—network and cable television, radio, daily newspapers, and weekly newsmagazines. In the United States, although the various news media are healthy and profitable, per capita news consumption is somewhat in decline as a new generation of young adults have less time to read, and favor television entertainment over news. Yet six out of ten adult Americans read a newspaper every day.
There is ongoing conflict between newspapers' mass distribution model, and advertisers' need for micro-targeting. This conflict, coupled with advertisers' desire for higher-quality printing of color images, is motivating a shift from run-of-press (ROP) advertising to inserts. The downside to inserts is that editorial context is lost.
Fearing the online migration of advertising, traditional news publishers from both broadcast and print have ventured into Internet-based news delivery, wanting to establish a presence at whatever cost before newcomers become entrenched. Most newspapers are still reporting losses from their online operations.
Online news delivery offers a number of advantages. Breaking news can be delivered as soon as it happens. News can be customized for individual readers according to their preferences and geographic locations. Readers can explore stories to arbitrary depth, follow links to related resources, and search archival material. Readers can participate in discussion groups and contribute to opinion polls. The news itself can incorporate audio and video clips, and can include live transmissions, converging with broadcast.
Online news delivery also has disadvantages. Computer screens are of limited size and quality compared with print. Few people enjoy reading a story of any length on a computer screen. Computers are not portable in the wide sense that a newspaper is. The news may be more timely, but the time and place in which it can be consumed are more constrained than with a newspaper.